Railway-switch.



No. 663,872. Patened'Dec. I8, |900.

' lC. A. DUNN.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

(Application Bled Dec. 11, 1899.)

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CLAUDE A. DUNN, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO TI-IE AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH COM- PANY, OF SAME PLACE.

RAI LWAYnSWlTCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,872, dated December 18, 1900.

Application filed December ll, 1899. Serial No. 739,998. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, CLAUDE A. DUNN, a citi- 'zen of the United States of America, residing at Denver,in the county'of Arapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches; andIdo declare the following to beafull,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a combined railwaycar switch and switch-throwing device operating from railway-cars; and the objects of my invention are, first, to provide a rail-switch for cars that can be operated from the platform of cars by the engineer or motorneer second, to provide a switch that will clean out the dirt that accumulates between the tongue and the rail each time the switch-thrower passes through the switch, and, third, to provide a simple, durable, and easily-manipulated railway-switch. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View of my improved switch,showing a portion of the switch-tongue. Fig. 2 is a plan view of my switch, showing a complete switch. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of Fig. l with the guardrail left off. Fig. 4C is a side elevation of the switch and its operating device and shows its application and method of throwing the switch from the platform of a car. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the switch-throwing plunger-rod. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of Fig. 4 with the returnspring and a fragment of the platform in place around it. Fig. 7 is a section of the switchlever and a section of a fragment of the switchtongue and bed-plate,showing a modification of the switch-lever. Fig. S is a fragment of the switch-thrower,showing a modification of the scraper; and Fig. 9 is a fragment of the switch-thrower, showing a modification of the switch-engaging wheel shown in Figs. Lland 5.

Similar figures oll reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates one T-rail, bent with the usual offset 2 to receive the end 3 of a switch-tongue et, which is pivotally secured to the iron bedplate 5. 6 in the usual manner.

7 designates the guard-rail.

In the end of the tongue I cut a slot 8 and preferably cut the lower part 9 of the end of the tongue 4. off a little shorter than the Lipper end l0. In this slot I pivotally secure by a pin 1l one end of a lever 12, which is stepped land narrowed at this end to fit loosely in the slot. This lever is made a little narrower at its pivotal end than the end of the switchtongue, so that it will not contact with the side of the T-rail.. From this point it broadens out and rests against the side of the rail just beyond the point of the tongue. From the point 13, where the lever contacts with the tongue, it narrows up on both sides to a comparatively thin blade 14, which extends to and lies against the guard-rail, its point breing beveled equally from the center of the blade, which projects on a straight line with the pivotal center of the lever in the tongue.

The switch and switch-lever are shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 switched against the guard-rail. Owing to the great length of the switch-rail and the scale of Fig. 1, the pivotal end of the switch is not shown, but is illustrated on a smaller scale in Fig. 2.

The switch-thrower comprises a rod l5, which extends down through the platform 16 of a car 17. The rod passes throughaflange 18, which is secured to the floor of the platform between the sills 19 of the platform. A spring 2() surrounds the rod, one end being attached to the rod below the iiange, and the opposite end rests on the flange 21, which is secured to the under side of the sills of the platform. The spring is arranged to normally hold the rod up away from the rail a few inches.

Upon the platform end of the rod a foot,- disk 22 is secured, from one side of which a short arm 23 extends, the end of which is preferably turned up in order that it may be more easily pressed against or struck with a side movement of the foot than the thin disk. The portion of the rod that depends below This bed-plate rests on the sleepers IOO the platform is narrowed to a thin blade 19A to near its lower end, which should be elastic in Figs. 4 and 6.

enough to spring easily several inches latererally of the car and rail in both directions.

To the flange 2l I secure a bracket 2lA, which is provided with a bifurcated end that straddles the blade portion of the rod,as shown The ends straddle the blade loose enough to allow the blade a little lateral play, just enough to allow the rod to be turned a little in either direction `by the side pressure of the foot. has removably secured to it a yoke 2-1. To quickly and easily secure the yoke to the lower end of the rod, I make it with a shaft 25 projecting from the top of the yoke and make the end of the rod hollow and iit the shaft loosely in it, forming a shoulder at the base of the shaft for the end of the rod to rest against. I then secure the two together by passing the bolts 26 through them.

Between the arlns of the yoke I pivot, bya pin 27, asmall wheel 28. Just above the wheel on the shaft of the yoke I secure a sleeve 29 by passing a bolt 30 through the sleeve and shaft. This sleeve forms part of a scraper 31, that curves down over and a little below the wheel 28 and is adapted to bear against and to scrape along the top of the bed-plate as the switch-thrower passes through the switch.

The operation is as follows: The end of the switch -lever always lies against either the T-rail or the guard-rail, and when the car gets within a few feet of the switch the motorneer places his foot on the top of the footdisk and forces down the rod and wheel alongslide and inside of the rail, so that the wheel or arm enters between the guard-rail and the T-rail when it arrives at the guard-rail, and when it reaches the switch-lever it passes between the lever and the T-rail and forces it and the end of the tongue over against the opposite side of the T-rail or guard-rail, as the case may be. At the same time the motorneer may press with the side of his foot the arm of the foot-disk and slightly turn the rod and wheel,;so that the scraper' or brush Vwill bear againsteither the side of the T-rail or the sideV of Ithe guard-rail, as he desires, and clean outany dirt between the switch and along the side of the rails, as he can see as he approaches the switch on which side the dirt has accumulated, and as every car that uses the switch sweeps it out it is kept practically clear of dirt. After passing the switch the motorneer takes his foot off the foot-disk and the spring raises the rod and wheel up above the rail and normally holds it there. As the tongue and switch-lever are moved over by the wheel wedging in between the lever and the rail the lever strikes the opposite rail with its broadest portion, and as the tongue continues to swing up against the opposite rail the lever tilts or fulcrums on its broadest point and its free end is swung over and against the opposite rail, thus setting it The lower end of the rod,

in operative position to switch the tongue back. Thus in Fig. l the switch is closed and the free end of the switch-lever is lying against the guard-rail. When a car is to be switched off the main line, the motorneer presses down the switch-thrower, and as it enters between the lever and T-rail it wedges the lever and tongue over against the guardrail into the position shown in the dotted lines, which opens it and leaves it open, but in operative position to be closed. Consequently the rst car that comes along whose motorneer wishes to keep the main track must press down his switch-thrower and switch it back or close it and leave it closed and in position to be opened by the next motorneer that wishes it open.

In Fig. 7 I illustrate a modification of the switch-lever,which consists of forming a round pivotal pin 32 on the under side of the central portion of the lever and extending it into a hole in the bed-plate,which makes the lever pivot on the pin, causing its point to swing positively from side to side as the switchthrower engages it between the pin and the tongue.

I also show a modification of the switchthrowing rod and scraper in Figs. 8 and 9. In place of the scraper shown in Figs. 4 and 5 I use a wire brush 33 by forming a socket 33A on the end of the scraper 30 and clamping a wire brush in it by a set-screw 34E, as

shown in Fig. 8.

I may also find itconvenient to dispense with the wheel at the end of the switch-throwing rod and use instead a shoe 35, which preferably has a curved forward end and a rearward extension and attaches to the rod in a similar manner to the yoke.

My invention is simple and durable and enables the switches to be thrown from the car without stopping and at the same time cleans the switch-spaces as it passes through them.

I-Iaving described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent, is-

l. The combination withthe railsin acarswitch, of a laterally-springing elastic rod reciprocally journaled to and extending from above through the platform of said car to said tracks,a spring arranged to control one movement of said rod, a manually-operating footplate on the upper end of said rod, and having a projecting arm adapted to engage the sides of an operators foot, a flange below said foot-plate secured to said cars platform in which the top of said rod is journaled, a bracket secured to said plate and arranged loosely on each side of said rod and adapted to allow a slight turning movement to said foot-plate and rod by a side movement of an operator-s foot, a suitable device at the lower IOO IIO

ranged to scrape or sweep the dirt out of said switch as said switch-throwing rod passes through it, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the railslof the T- rail, the guard-rail, the bed-plate, the switchtongue and the switch-lever with a switchthrowing foot operating rod secured to and arranged to be manually operated from the platform of said car, and having a portion of its length elastic enough to allow it to spring sidewise to compensate for the swaying of said oar when the lower end of said rod is between the switch-rails and having said rod journaled to have a slight turning movement, a spring arranged to normally hold said rod out of engagement with said rails, a footplate on the top of said rod for pressing said rod against said spring down between said In testimony whereof- I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLAUDE A. DUNN.

Witnesses:

BnssIE THOMPSON, JOHN KNowLEs. 

